1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a colored flame candle and manufacture thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a colored flame candle with improved strength and flame stability, and manufacture thereof.
2. Brief Description of Art
Conventional colored flame candles are formed of a primary combustion agent, a color-forming agent and other adjuvant, and burn with a colored flame such as red, yellow, blue, green, etc. With respect to the formulations of colored flame candles and processes for manufacturing them, there exist many patent publications. For example, Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN1043340A discloses a colored flame candle and manufacture thereof, said colored flame candle comprising ethyl carbamate(urethane) as the primary combustion agent, non-toxic organic or inorganic substances, which are soluble in ethyl carbamate, as the color-forming agent, higher fatty alcohols as the strength-modifier, higher fatty acid amides as the lubricating and demoulding agent, higher fatty acids as the agent for improving combustion property, cellulose derivatives as the film-forming agent and a resin solution or melt paraffin as the surface-protecting agent; and Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN 1073201A discloses a colored flame candle and manufacture thereof, said colored flame candle comprising organic polybasic acid esters as the primary combustion agent, higher fatty acids or higher fatty alcohols as the strength-modifier, higher fatty acid amides as the demoulding agent, metal oxides as the combustion wick modifier and metals or organic salts or complexes thereof as the color-forming agent. However, the colored flame candles disclosed in the prior art are fragile and less flexible and burn with instable flames.
The inventor of the present invention conducted extensive investigation in the field of colored flame candles, aiming to develop a colored flame candle with improved strength of the candle body and good flame stability, and as the result, the inventor of the present invention found that by adding a specific triglyceride during the manufacture of the candle body of the colored flame candle, it is possible to substantially improve the strength of the candle body and that by subjecting the candle combustion wick to a specific treatment, it is possible to result in good flame stability. The present invention is completed based on the above findings.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel colored flame candle, which overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior candles, such as fragileness, insufficient flexibility and instable flames, is superior over the prior products and can be manufactured by a simple process with low costs.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for manufacturing the above-mentioned novel colored flame candle.
Therefore, the present invention in its one aspect provides a colored flame candle, comprising a candle body and a candle combustion wick, wherein the candle body comprises a primary combustion agent, a higher fatty acid amide and a higher fatty acid triglyceride as the strength- and flexibility-modifier, a color-forming agent and conventional adjuvant such as perfumes and pigments.
The present invention in its second aspect provides a process for manufacturing a colored flame candle, comprising forming a uniform melt mixture of components for constituting the candle body, casting said mixture into a mould containing a candle combustion wick therein, cooling and then demoulding.
The colored flame candle according to the present invention comprises a candle body and a candle combustion wick, wherein said candle body comprises the following components:
wherein said percent by weight is calcuated on the basis of the total weight of said candle body.
The primary combustion agent to be used in the candle body of the colored flame candle according to the present invention can be those conventionally employed in the art and examples thereof may include paraformaldehyde, ethyl hydroxyformate, paraffins, ceresin, ethyl carbamate(urethane), sorbic anhydride, organic polybasic acid esters, polyethylene glycols, hexamethylene-tetramine (urotropine), stearic acid, vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer resins(EVA), etc., and mixtures thereof, preferably ethyl carbamate and organic polybasic acid esters such as di-C1-5 alkyl oxalate, mono-C1-5 alkyl succinate, tri-C1-8 alkyl citrate, etc., and mixtures thereof, more preferably dimethyl oxalate, monomethyl succinate, trimethyl citrate, most preferably trimethyl citrate. The primary combustion agent is used in an amount of 60 to 99% by weight, preferably 65 to 99% by weight, more preferably 75 to 98% by weight, based on the total weight of the candle body.
The higher fatty acid amide to be used in the candle body of the colored flame candle according to the present invention can be C10-30 fatty acid amides, such as caprylamide, capramide, lauramide, tridecanamide, myristamide, palmitamide, stearamide, oleamide, etc., and mixtures thereof, preferably myristamide or stearamide. Said higher fatty acid amide is used in an amount of 1 to 15% by weight, preferably 1.5 to 10% by weight, based on the total weight of the candle body.
The higher fatty acid triglyceride to be used in the candle body of the colored flame candle according to the present invention may be C10-30 fatty acid triglycerides, such as glycerin tricaprylate, glycerin tricaprate, glycerin trilaurate, glycerin tri-tridecanoate, glycerin trimyrstate, glycerin tripalmitate, glycerin tristearate(stearin), glycerin trioleate, etc., and mixtures thereof, preferably glycerin trilaurate, glycerin tripalmitate and stearin, most preferably stearin. Said higher fatty acid triglyceride is used in an amount of 1 to 15% by weight, preferably 1.5 to 10% by weight, based on the total weight of the candle body.
The color-forming agent to be used in the candle body of the colored flame candle according to the present invention can be those conventionally employed in the art, and examples thereof may be organic salts such as formates, acetates, stearates and etc., inorganic salts such as halides(for example, chlorides, bromides, etc.), oxycholorides, nitrates, sulfates and etc., of lithium(Li), sodium(Na), potassium(K), boron(B), barium(Ba), calcium(Ca), cesium(Cs), copper(Cu), magnesium(Mg) or antimony(Sb), or complexes of the above-mentioned metals, or mixtures thereof. Said color-forming agent is used in an amount of 1 to 10% by weight, preferably 1.5 to 8% by weight, based on the total weight of the candle body.
The perfumes and pigments to be used in the candle body of the colored flame candle according to the present invention can be those conventionally employed in the art. Examples of perfumes may include santal oil, vanilla, clove oil, mango, lemon oil, etc.; and examples of pigments may include Oil Red, Oil Yellow, Oil Green, Oil Blue, etc. Perfumes or pigments can be used in amounts conventionally employed in the art, for example in amounts of 0.001 to 0.1% by weight, preferably 0.005 to 0.05% by weight, based on the total weight of the candle body.
Besides the above components, the candle body of the colored flame candle according to the present invention can also comprise oxidation accelerators conventionally employed in the art, such as vanadium pentoxide, chromium trioxide and etc. in amounts conventionally employed in the art.
The candle combustion wick of the colored flame candle according to the present invention can be those conventionally employed in the art, such as cotton combustion wick. The candle combustion wick to be used in the colored flame candle according to the present invention may be subjected to a pretreatment by immersing with a solution of the above-mentioned color-forming agent or other reagents according to a conventional manner in the art in a particularly preferred embodiment, the candle combustion wick of the colored flame candle according to the present invention is pretreated by immersing with a 20% aqueous solution of semicarbazide for 10 minutes and then air-drying, whereby the flame stability is substantially enhanced.
The colored flame candle according to the present invention can be manufactured by a method essentially same as one used in the prior art, that is to say, by forming a uniform melt mixture of components for constituting the candle body in a vessel heated at 90 to 95xc2x0 C., casting the resultant melt mixture into a mould containing a candle combustion wick therein, cooling and then demoulding, thereby a finished product is obtained.
In comparison with the prior colored flame candles, the colored flame candle according to the present invention has high strength and flexibility, and thus is not easy to be crushed during its manufacture and marketing. Furthermore, the colored flame candle according to the present invention has high flame stability and thus has enhanced quality.
The inventive products and the prior products are compared in terms of the strength and flexibility and the results are listed as follows.